Ancelotti has tried to play down his side's worst Barclays Premier League run for more than a decade by claiming winning is not the most important thing in football.

The under-pressure Blues boss believes results should be secondary to the general progress of a club, saying: "I don't think it is the most important thing, to win. I know that a lot of managers are judged just on the results. Maybe in the future I will be an owner of a club. I will judge my coach not just on the results."

Expanding on the factors he would consider, the Italian added: "The philosophy of the team, the philosophy of the club, the atmosphere.

"There are a lot of things that you can judge."

Ancelotti was responding to a question about whether he needed to win the Champions League to remain at Stamford Bridge in the long term.

Billionaire owner Roman Abramovich is thought to be obsessed with the competition and, asked if his boss shared his philosophy, Ancelotti said: "You have to ask Mr Abramovich, not me."

The Italian cited Arsenal's Arsene Wenger has the perfect example of a manager who has enjoyed the kind of leeway he would like.

Wenger has not won a trophy for five years and Ancelotti said: "Arsenal are playing without victory very good football.

"The fans I think of Arsenal are happy to watch their team play, that they are playing good football."